Y/n's POV
How could I have pushed him away like that? All he's ever been was kind to me. I'm filled with regret. Well deserved regret. I spoke without thinking. I really have to stop doing that. There's nothing I can do because I know Hunter won't want to listen to what I have to say. Serves me right. But I'm still not giving up. Even if Hunter's not here, I can still do it on my own. Do what exactly though? Defeat the emperor?? Hah. Not gonna happen. I don't stand a chance against him. But I have to try.
Maybe I don't need Hunter anyways. I'm 'powerful', right? Why else would they need me to get to the human realm? Yeah. I don't need anyone's help. I sigh. There's nothing I can say to convince myself that I don't still wish Hunter was by my side.
Small time skip
Okay, I've come up with a plan. First, I go to Emperor Belos. Of course, I'll have to take out the guards before, but I can handle that. Then... I don't really know. Alright, I'm just gonna make this up as I go. Let's do this. I'm walking to the throne room running over what I will do in my head.
"Iris! Where were you today? You weren't at training." Lydia appears in front of me.
"Oh. Hi Lydia. I'm uh- actually in the middle of something right now. Can we talk later?" That is if I live to see her again.
"Sure, that's fine. I have a date with the golden guard soon anyways."
That's right. I forgot she was still supposedly dating him. Or I guess I tried to forget.
She waves to me and walks away. I shake the thought of Hunter out of my head. I can't have any distractions. This is important. I reach my destination and look to see what I'm dealing with. Only two guards. Not bad. With one quick movement of my hand, I trap them in some vines. I make sure to cover their mouths so they can't make a sound. Here we go. There's no going back now. I push the doors open. And there's Belos. Sitting on his throne almost as if he was waiting for me.
"Y/n. What brings you here?" Belos asks.
"You know exactly why," I reply aggressively.
"It was a mistake for coming here in the first place. I would've left when I had the chance." He gets up from the throne.
"That's because you're a coward." I clench my fists.
"It's very unwise of you to speak this way to me. I can kill you."
"Your threats don't scare me. I'm not afraid anymore." Even though I speak with confidence, my heart is pounding through my chest.
"I thought you might say that." He walks closer to me.
I prepare for anything he might throw at me.
"I know you don't care about getting hurt, but what about your friends?" He asks in a hushed voice.
I'm taken aback by the question. "I don't have any friends." Lydia doesn't count...
"Hunter?" He leads forward.
My heart finally stops pounding. My eyes widen in fear.
"That's- that's your nephew! You would never hurt him!"
"I can if I need to. Remember, if he dies it will be your fault."
My head is spinning. Please no. Anyone but Hunter.
"All you have to do is open the portal to the human realm, and Hunter will be fine."
"But I don't know how to-"
"It's your choice y/n." He replies in a cold voice.
There's that word again. It's my choice. It doesn't take longer than a second for me to make my decision.
"I'll do it."
Small time skip
"Try again." He demands.
I wave my hands as I did the past twenty times, but nothing happens.
"I told you, I forget." I'm out of energy and my palms are sweating.
"Well, remember then. You know the repercussions."
After everything I've done to Hunter, I need to make up for it. I can't risk hurting him again. So, I attempt the spell once more. This time, the portal door lights up. I'm almost there. I keep concentrating and watch as the door gets brighter and brighter. Suddenly, I get sent flying backward and hit the floor. Did the door do that? I slowly get up. Belos reaches for the handle and opens the door. I haven't seen anything quite like what is beyond it. It's very green, with many trees. The sky is the most beautiful shade of blue. This is the human realm?
"Incredible." He mumbles to himself.
I hear the doors of the throne room open and shoot my head around. I watch as Hunter enters the room.
"Hunter, come closer," Belos says.
Hold on, didn't Lydia say she and Hunter had a date? Maybe she meant later tonight. Or maybe she was lying this whole time. Should've known. Hunter looks from me to the portal door, then back to me.
"What's going on?" He asks hesitantly.
"See for yourself."
Hunter stands before the door, eyes wide open in awe.
"But- we can't go in there." Hunter backs away.
"We will Hunter. And we will take over their world."
"No-" I try getting up to stop him, but I fall to my knees. I'm too weak.
Hunter walks over to me, but Belos shoots a spell at him, causing Hunter to drop next to me.
"Don't help her, you fool! She's crazy." He scolds.
Hunter looks up angrily. "You're the crazy one!" He grabs his staff and teleports behind Belos.
He swings his staff around his back, ready to attack.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Hunter." Belos moves his hand in a circle and sends a sharp pain through my body.
I scream in agony.
"Stop!" Hunter drops his staff in defeat.
The pain goes away, but I'm left even weaker than I was before. I can't just stop fighting. I need to push through the pain. I have to do something.
"Let's not cause any more problem-" I jump onto Belos then begin to pull and tug at him.
Since I don't have enough strength to make any spells, I have to handle things like this. I'm not very effective, but it serves as a decent distraction. Hunter gets his staff from the floor and pulls the mask off Belos. Woah. I didn't expect him to look like this. I suddenly get thrown to the floor. Belos is raging. He brings his hand up and I brace myself for the hit. Before he can do anything, Hunter uses his staff to teleport Belos away. He runs over to me and pulls me to my feet.
"He won't be gone for long. We have to get you out of here." Hunter leads me over to the portal. "Stay here for a little, okay?"
"You want me to go into the human realm!?"
"I don't know what else to do. Wherever you go Belos will find you. But he won't if you're in there." He motions to the portal door.
Just then, a loud bang comes from outside the throne room.
"You have to go now!" He pushes me to the other side of the door.
"What about you?"
"I'll be fine." He looks away.
I take a step closer to him and take his hands. He leans forward to give me a kiss. I wish for it to last just a bit longer, but there's no time.
"Belos won't come looking for us in the human realm will he?" I ask worriedly.
Hunter drops my hands. "I'm sorry."
I stare at him in confusion. "For what?"
"This." He slams the door in my face.
Seriously? I go to open the door, but when I do, there's nothing but a wall in front of me. I close the door again and open it. Nothing. Did he... trap me in the human realm? I tell myself that Hunter would never do that, but there's no other explanation. Tears fill my eyes to the brim as I hopelessly try to open the door over and over again. After I've had enough, I drop to the floor. What am I supposed to do now?